


What Might Have Been... Then Was!

by FrsdGirl



Series: I Thought Romance Was a Foregone Conclusion... [6]
Category: Phineas and Ferb
Genre: F/M, Fluff, post AYA happiness, relationship phinabella is the best phinabella
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-13
Updated: 2020-10-16
Packaged: 2021-03-07 15:51:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,696
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26990182
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FrsdGirl/pseuds/FrsdGirl
Summary: Post AYA, Phineas decides to create and recreate some of those lost moments in "What Might Have Been" for Isabella. With the help of their friends, of course.
Relationships: Phineas Flynn/Isabella Garcia-Shapiro
Series: I Thought Romance Was a Foregone Conclusion... [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1931140
Comments: 22
Kudos: 30





	1. I Know What We're Gonna Do Today...

**Author's Note:**

> FIRST CHAPTER FIC WHOOP WHOOP  
> Forgive me for how short this first chapter is, I had intended this to be a one-shot and it quickly grew in my head, so here we are! Thanks to @sammy for the inspiration! 
> 
> I know what I'm going to do today! Acknowledge that P&F does not belong to me and this is me engaging with a wonderful fandom and thanks to Dan and Swampy and all of that. :)
> 
> Without further ado...

Isabella reached for the salsa bowl, but Phineas was faster, grabbing it and placing it in front of her. She thanked him and giggled at his wide smile. It was their first day of winter break, and the first winter break since college, and Phineas seemed to be buzzing with excitement at the prospect of seeing their full friend group again. They had been dating for a full semester and all of the nerves from starting a relationship were gone. Today, though, Phineas seemed to be taking it personally that he had never officially dated her in Danville and was making up for it. He insisted on driving, putting on her favorite music, running to open her car door when they got to her family’s restaurant, and even gave his card to her mom at the beginning of their lunch, to keep from splitting the check like they usually did. Even now he was ordering dessert like eating chocolate was going out of fashion.

“Three black and white cookies, two chocolate cakes, and I saw some wrapped brownies at the front, are those for sale?”

Jordan looked over at Isabella, as if she would know if they were.

“Phineas, honey, I think those are for the Fireside Bake Sale at the park later.”

“Oh darn, well, we’ll stop by later and get them ourselves. The cookies and cakes will have to do.”

Jordan walked away, scribbling away on a pad, and Isabella raised her eyebrows at Phineas.

“What are you up to?” She asked.

He rubbed the back of his neck and turned a bit pinker.

“Nothing! Just feel like celebrating.”

“Phineas, I woke up to a dorm room filled with carnations this morning and you told me it was because it’s the second Saturday of the month.”

“Yeah, well, like I said, today is going to be special.” He said, eyeing the door to the kitchen as if hoping Jordan would come back with enough confections to distract Isabella.

“Is there a reason all our friends have ignored my texts?” Isabella asked.

“They’re probably busy with their families.” Phineas answered. His phone buzzed and Isabella saw a text from Ferb flash on the screen before he snatched it and put it under the table, furiously texting back.

“I’m assuming you’ll clue me in to whatever is going on at some point.” Isabella answered.

Jordan walked back up, balancing three plates, and Isabella grabbed one of the cakes right before it fell.

“Thanks.” Said the boy, gratefully.

“I got you.” She answered, still eyeing Phineas who scanned one of the cookies with his phone. It disappeared, most likely transported to Ferb, and Jordan jumped back.

“Did you just—“ He asked.

“Yes, yes he did.” Isabella answered, giggling. She grabbed one of the two remaining cookies and popped it into her mouth.

Jordan walked away a bit dazed, but Phineas didn’t seem to notice. He finished typing and put his phone back down on the table, beaming at her.

“Isabella, love of my life, soulmate, my dearest friend, I have a surprise for you.”

Isabella, through a mouthful of cookie, answered, “Yes, love, you gave that much away when you when you blocked out the day in our schedule as BIG SURPRISE in colorful letters.”

“Yes, well, subtlety has never been my strong suit. But you should check that calendar again.”

Isabella swallowed the last bit of cookie and took out her phone, opening up their shared schedule. Phineas and Ferb had made specialized phones that allowed for the normal functions, but also had a couple of additions. There was a teleportation option for location tagged events, a shared big ideas blueprint creator, even a mindnotes function. Without typing or speaking, they could hold down a button and think up messages that were automatically notated, something especially helpful when they were in class and wanted to send things to each other without the conspicuous clicking of a keyboard.

Phineas slid one of the cakes over to himself, eating at an alarmingly fast rate.

Isabella opened up her calendar and saw that two minutes ago BIG SURPRISE had been changed to What Might Have Been... Then Was!

“Are we singing another duet?” She asked, tilting her head at him.

He shoved the other cake at her and she tentatively took up her fork.

“Well,” He started, folding his arms over the table and leaning closer. “You know the day we got together? How we apparently sang a duet together?”

“Of course, you harmonized without realizing it, it was a very sweet moment.” Isabella answered.

“I frequently harmonize with the melody in my head, but that’s beside the point. You know how we talked about those moments in the middle, the ones we thought up for our relationship? Ones that had either happened platonically and we were thinking about again, or had never actually happened?”

“Yeah, like prom and stuff.”

Phineas nodded enthusiastically. “We’re gonna create or recreate those moments.”

“Like you holding my hair back while I had salmonella?” She asked, eyeing the cake.

“No, no! Not that one, um, just some of the other ones.”

“You’re recreating all the sweet romantic moments of one of our duets?”

“Yes.”

“This is the big surprise you’ve been planning all day?”

“Yes.”

“And you’ve roped all our friends into this?”

“Yes”

“Do you know I love you so, so much?”

Phineas grinned at her. “Yes, yes I do.”

Isabella put her fork down, thinking back about those memories. After their first kiss, Phineas had stayed with her the whole day, helping her move her stuff into the dorm and finally taking her on an official date. They talked about everything they couldn’t talk about before, the number of duets they had accidentally sung, the moments of angst and fluff, from cruise ships to school pictures. It had been months since they had mentioned that particular duet though, and even with Phineas’ photographic memory, it was still touching that he would remember the moments she had shared with him.

Isabella reached across the table and took his hand, lacing their fingers together.

“You know you don’t—“

He was expecting it, though, and cut her off quickly.

“Have to do this. Like I’ve said before, I do these things because I want to. And I love you. And they make you and me happy. I want to go through those moments with you, for real this time. Together.”

Her heart swelled and she blinked back tears. She had been in Phineasland enough times that when they first started dating, she had never expected to be overwhelmed by the things that Phineas would do. But having him constantly there, in front of her, telling her without a hint of dramatics or hesitation how much he loved her and then proving it by just being himself was... wonderful. Even in her wildest fantasies, she couldn’t have imagined how wonderful it would be to have it be real and constant and there.

“You ready to start?” He asked.

Isabella nodded. “I know what we’re going to do today.”


	2. Umbrellas and Carnations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We've got an umbrella, we've got flowers, we've got breaking the laws of physics... A continuation of Phineas' attempts to create and recreate the moments in What Might Have Been. Need more of an incentive to read? Everyone gets to wear adorable flower outfits. Alright, it's Flower Market Day!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Back at it with Chapter 2! Thank you SO SO SO much to everyone who commented on the last chapter. It made my DAY! And now, I bring you two more fluffy moments... the fateful shared umbrella and that purple flower. Spoiler alert: May have gone a bit over the top with the references.

Phineas went to retrieve his card and Isabella quickly sent a text to Ferb, letting him know they were on their way and checking on some details for later.

_Love Händel is a go._ Ferb texted back.

She grinned and put her phone away, drumming her fingers against the table. Phineas wasn’t the only one with surprises up his sleeve.

They walked over to the exit and he grabbed a black umbrella on the way, which seemed to materialize out of nowhere. Isabella whipped her head around in time to catch a glimpse of what looked like Buford in one of their old ninja suits.

Phineas opened the door for her, sticking out his hand as if this beautifully sunny day was a dreary rainy one, and then opened up the umbrella. She took his arm and the two of them started walking down the street.

“You didn’t disappear this time, that’s nice.” He commented, placing his free hand over hers and leaning in closer.

She blushed and grinned, feeling utterly giddy.

“I don’t think I’ve ever used an umbrella for such a beautiful day.” She said back.

“Oh, just wait.”

Suddenly, buckets of water seemed to fall from the sky, but only on them.

“Ninja suits?” She asked.

“Gretchen was really happy to finally get one.”

“Gretchen with a suit that allows her to come in and out of places unexpectedly? You’re getting brave.”

“Ferb has one, we were never getting any peace anyways. It’s worth it it for this.” He finished.

She pulled his a bit closer as the water continued to fly out from the roofs of surrounding buildings.

“Do I know romance, or what?” He asked, smiling down at her.

They both dodged a misfired splash, Isabella pulling the umbrella down just in time to block it. They looked at each other for a moment and laughed, hearing a very frenzied “Sorry!” from Baljeet.

“Yes, love,” Isabella said, grinning. “I can with the utmost certainty say that you absolutely know romance.”

It really was going to be a BIG SURPRISE kind of day.

They walked to the park, still dodging large splashes. Other Danville residents barely paid them any attention, as they were used to these somewhat odd if not entertaining displays, merely walking to the other side of the street to avoid getting drenched themselves.

Isabella heard it before she saw it. Street fair sounds floated towards them before turning the corner, and a wonderfully flowery smells seemed to be spilling out from the direction of the park.

_I’ve never seen so much pink._ Isabella though to herself, mouth a bit agape. And that was saying something considering her childhood bedroom. Their ninjas had given up their attacks a block or two ago, the closed umbrella hanging from Phineas’ wrist. Now, their friends were waiting for them at the entrance, all donning matching outfits that seemed to be made up of different types of flowers. She giggled a bit at Baljeet’s, pansy themed in an obvious callback to his affinity for them, and there was something so comforting about knowing that some things never change.

A large sign with “The First Annual Danville Flower Market” hung overhead.

“Surprise number one.” Phineas told her, and he led her up to the group. While Isabella was being bear hugged by various friends, Phineas slipped away to the side.

“Everything going smoothly?” He asked Ferb. The latter nodded and then blinked in the direction of a canvassed tent.

“Perfect.”

That same tent was housing the newest line of clothing in the Winter All the Time collection. Even on different continents, the two boys hadn’t slowed down one bit on their inventions, and making a flower and cotton fusing tool was one of their latest innovations. All of Danville seemed to be there picking out their outfits, some going for traditional spring colors while others took advantage of the blues and whites of winter.

Isabella gasped again as she walked in, taking stock of the built in irrigation systems that kept the shirts, pants, dresses and skirts looking well-watered.

“Are those?” She asked.

The walls and ceilings of the tent were coated with what initially looked like streamers, but giving them a closer look, Isabella realized they were petals, cut out in head and heart shapes. Phineas’ unique head shape was easy enough to distinguish, and she was brought back several years, to when she cut out a very similar pattern for their first collection ever. She kept looking and noticed that no one was excluded, recognizing her own head, Ferb’s and even Candace’s in the mix.

She couldn’t help it, she launched herself into Phineas’ arms and he steadied himself just in time to keep both of them from falling over.

“You’re amazing.” The words came out muffled against his shoulder but he felt himself blush regardless.

“Wait till you see what else I have planned.” Phineas answered.

Isabella broke away, grabbing an armful of clothes, closely followed into the dressing room by her old troupe.

“Lucky that the weather’s been so warm.” A familiar voice chimed in from behind him.

Candace, accompanied by Vanessa, walked up to the two brothers.

“Lucky, yeah.” Vanessa said smirking, eyeing Ferb.

Candace narrowed her eyes at the three of them, her busting senses tingling.

“You broke the laws of physics again, didn’t you? Just please don’t tell me you broke any federal laws, that would put me in a really awkward position.”

“Well,” Phineas started, smiling slyly. “The Council on Environmental Quality didn’t approve our request. Silly, really, since we fixed global warming you think they would trust us a bit more, but apparently changing global wind patterns to give your girlfriend the best day ever doesn’t qualify as a national emergency. Of course, having asked that of them made us a bit liable to any major changes that happened to occur this weekend. But we had a fellow inventor, one with ties to a country with more lax laws, who was willing to help.”

The two brothers looked over at Vanessa, who waited a beat for Candace to put the pieces together.

“Et tu, Vanessa?” Candace said, shaking her head.

“You know my father loves collaborating with these two, how could I say no? Plus, I know they’ll make sure it doesn’t mess up Earth too much, they have saved it, like, twelve times now.”

“Thirteen if you count the 2020 special.” Ferb chimed in.

They all nodded together.

“Candace!” Jeremy called out, standing at the entrance of the tent. “Stacy wants us all to take a picture before the set.”

Jeremy and the Incidentals were still going strong even all these years later. In fact, one of their early albums had funded Phineas and Ferb’s environmental research after the government grants fell through. It was a well known fact that the lead guitarist and singer of the band had a pension for tying himself to trees and speaking out against deforestation.

“Go ahead, we’ll catch up later.” Vanessa told Candace.

Phineas chuckled as Candace ran towards Jeremy, whose outfit was clad with the same yellow daffodils he had gotten Candace on their third date. Weeks ago, when planning all of this, Candace, Jeremy, Stacy and Coltrane had planned matching outfits to wear together, and he was sure they wanted to take advantage of the photo op to promote the band’s newest album, _Not So Wild Parsnips._

Phineas left Ferb and Vanessa to quickly switch into his own outfit, made up of blue and orange carnations. As he was coming out of one dressing room, Isabella came out of another, matching his carnations with pink, purple and white ones of her own spread across a long sleeved dress.

The two grinned at each other, Phineas winking and walking off to leave the girls to sing a group song Gretchen had launched into, throwing petals into the air and rhyming “roses” with “pointed noses.”

He chuckled, picking out a single purple carnation from a nearby bouquet and waiting patiently by the tent exit for his girlfriend to finish singing. Ferb and Vanessa had vanished, probably going out to the festivities outside, and Phineas let his heart fill up with the happy glow only his hometown could provide. Isabella joined him, radiating that same kind of happiness, and he wondered exactly how he had gotten so lucky. Wordlessly, he handed her the carnation. She took it, smiling down at the little flower, and marveling at the fact that he had managed to even get the color right. She placed in in her hair, behind her ear, beaming at him.

He stared at her for a moment longer. He had a lot more planned, but he didn’t want this one moment to end.

“Ready to go?” She asked, taking one of his hands.

He took a breath, stepping forward. “Whether it’s moving a piano…”

“Or trapped under rubble.”

If someone else had heard, it would seem like an odd and rather unromancey inside joke, but the couple seemed to understand it.

They stepped forward, into the great known and unknown.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I didn’t mean to make this fic an excuse to fit in as many references as possible, but that’s exactly what it became 😂 Let me know what you think and how many of them you caught 😉 Thanks so much for all the support and love. Can’t tell you how much every comment, kudos and hit means to me.

**Author's Note:**

> THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR READING!


End file.
